ABSTRACT
Tuberculosis [TB] is a disease that has affected humankind throughout recorded history and before.Presently, the number of deaths caused by TB worldwide exceeds that caused by any other organism. Drug-resistant tuberculosis is a man-made problem. Poor management can lead to the selection of M. tuberculosis with mutations conferring resistance to antituberculous drugs. Drug resistance is divided into two types: primary [resistance in persons who have never received anti-tuberculosis drugs for more than 1 month. These patients are initially infected with drugresistant strains] and secondary, acquired, [resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs, which arises during treatment due to poor compliance or improper management.] To identify the prevalence of drug resistance among new cases of pulmonary tuberculosis in Iraq. A cross sectional studywhich includes, 106 patients fulfilled the criteria of inclusion throughout the duration of the study, and sputum samples were taken from all of them for direct microscopical examination and culture and drug sensitivity. Fifty patients [47.2%] had positive results for mycobacterial culture, none of them showed resistance to any anti- tuberculous drug that had been examined for, i.e.: all the 50 samples were sensitive to tested anti-tuberculous drugs. Standard first line treatment for pulmonary T.B. is recommended for all new cases of pulmonary tuberculosis in Iraq